


A Long Ride To Safety

by Clownstar



Category: Final Fantasy XV
Genre: Canon Compliant, Canon Related, Fleshing Out Canon, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-01-20
Updated: 2018-01-20
Packaged: 2019-03-07 05:01:13
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,133
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13427334
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Clownstar/pseuds/Clownstar
Summary: Bridging The End of Chapter 4 and the Start of Chapter 5, The Royal Retinue gets an up close look at the inside of an Imperial Dropship and Prompto starts to figure out things about himself that he isn't entirely prepared to know.





	A Long Ride To Safety

**Author's Note:**

> So this all came together because of the abrupt cut off and start points of CH4+5, plus playing the Assassin's Festival before it leaves in a couple days and hearing Prompto talk about the MT's.

Prompto didn't know how it could get much worse than this, but give it a few minutes. He'd figure it out real quick. Titan and the Meteor had disappeared in a blinding flash of light, the imperial ships had crashed in the meantime and lava spewed around them as the earth gave way under them, crumbling into the gaping hole Titan left.

"Doesn’t get much worse than this.” Gladio echoed Prom’s own thoughts, before one more drop ship appeared from beyond a ridge, descending towards them. Seriously? The bay doors opened, and Prompto held his breath, but instead of MTs landing on top of them, a certain stranger stood, as gratingly casual as he could possibly be against a backdrop of lava. 

“ _ Fancy _ meeting you here!” The four of them did little else but stare up in a stunned silence. “It occurs to me I never formally introduced myself. Izunia. Ardyn Izunia.”

“Imperial Chancellor Izunia?” Ignis spoke, taking a step forward. Prompto knew  _ of  _ him, but only barely. He'd seen the name in a paper before they left when he'd barged into Insomnia to talk Peace, and well… Prompto knew how that had gone.

“At your service. And more importantly, to your aid.” None of them made any move, glancing between each other uncertainly. “I guarantee your safe passage. Though you’re always welcome to take your chances down there.”

Ignis gritted his teeth, glancing back to Noctis with a cold fire in his eyes. “Dying here is not an option. We have no choice, Noct.”

“I know.” he met the Chancellor’s eyes. “We'll accept your offer. Get us out of here!”

The smile Ardyn wore was probably meant to be kind, but it didn't particularly work on him somehow. It seemed predatory, which didn't surprise Prompto after the caravan sleepover but it did manage to confirm a sense of unease. Nevertheless the ship landed, just long enough for the four of them to dash into the gaping maw before the hole titan left finished crumbling open.

In seconds the doors shut behind them, reducing the noise of the engines and the goings on outside to a soft hum. Behind Ardyn, still hooked up in slots lining the walls, were a group of MTs. The silence was becoming almost unbearable, so Prom had to break it somehow. “Are they… asleep? Or, I mean, Inactive? Robots don't really sleep, do they?” Prom took a step towards one of them, waving a hand in front of its face. No response.

“Ah, yes. I assure you that you'll have no problems with them while on my ship.” Ardyn followed behind him, the hair on Prompto’s neck standing on end as he quickly jumped back closer to his friends. 

“We’d like to thank you again for such a… timely rescue from ground zero. Now, if you could just set us back to the ground with the Regalia…” Ignis was all diplomacy, as Gladio and Noct both looked about ready to jump their Host.

Ardyn sucked in a breath as if he had actually been punched. “Ah, yes, the… matter of your car. I'm afraid it will probably have been picked up by another convoy. It might take some time before I'm able to locate it and return it to you.”

Noct couldn't help the irritated noise that escaped his mouth. “Alright, fine. Just… set us down somewhere safe, I'll give you my number and you can text us when you find her.”

Ardyn nodded. “Yes, that does seem like the soundest plan. Please, seat yourselves and I'll speak to the pilot about finding a place nearby where we can land.”

It was only after he left that the four of them relaxed a degree, taking the Chancellor's suggestion and sitting down on the metal benches that lined the area next to the inactive MTs. No one seemed to want to be in the seat directly next to the last one in line, each of them scooting away from the robots as well as they could.

This left whoever was last to be seated in the dreaded hot seat, and Prompto groaned. “Why do I have to sit next to tall, tin, and terrifying?” he asked, plopping next to Gladio and looking up at the trooper next to him.

The other three leaned in close to each other, whispering conspiratorially, but when they were all in a line like this there wasn't really room for him to get in on the conversation. Instead, he continued to turn his attention up towards where Ardyn had disappeared off to, playing lookout.

But his eyes continued to be drawn upward, towards the MTs. Robot or not, it was sad, he thought. Brought into this world just to be cannon fodder for the Imperial Army. His focus on the units found its way to a particular detail he had never had time to notice in the heat of battle.

His friend's conversation died away in his ears, Prompto’s vision felt like it was tunneling, focused so deeply on the armor that he didn't notice anything else going on around him.

On the MT’s arm, near its wrist, was something horrifyingly familiar. A barcode, printed on the armor, with numbers on either side of it. On one side, “NH-12843”, and the other “0006-0204”

He didn't know how long he sat like that, gripped over his wristband as he was struck with a sense of overwhelming panic. Until finally he was jolted back to reality, Noct shaking his gently. “Hey, come on. We're getting out here. Unless you want to  _ stay  _ with that guy.” he teased, helping Prompto up.

Prom shook his head, laughing nervously. “As if.” He quickly followed the three of them, glancing behind him for just a moment, back to the rows of MTs and, at the last minute as the doors obstructed him from view, Ardyn staring at him with an unreadable expression. 

_ \---- _

_During the Lestallum Invasion_

_ “ _ They bring those Troopers to life just to let ‘em die… Its kinda sad, y’know?” Prompto hoped for even one empathetic word from Noct, a simple ‘Yeah’ or…  _ something  _ that might aleve the twisting of his guts watching Noctis sneak up behind the soldier, coming straight through their torso with his daggers.

“What's so sad about a bunch of robots getting their circuits fried?” It was dismissive. He had no reason not to be, but somehow it still hurt.

“ _ Robots… _ right.” Prompto didn't mean to sound as hurt as he felt, but Noctis picked up on it immediately.

“What?”

“Nothing! Just saying you're right!” Prompto switched topics in record time. “So, you think you can find a place to scout the town out, then?”

As Noctis scoped the town, Prompto sighed, trying his best not to claw too much at his wristband.  _ Just robots… _


End file.
